What's Old is New Again

Last weekend, I went to pick up a copy of the recent martial arts movie sensation from Hong Kong – IP MAN, starring Donnie Yen, about the famous real life Wing Chun patriarch also known to martial arts lovers as Yip Man.  As you may know, Yip Man and his unusual but deadly practical and efficient style became famous throughout the 70’ sand 80’s when Bruce Lee rose to fame and it became know that Yip Man was Bruce Lee’s original teacher. 

Anyhooo, I heard about the film when talking to a Wing Chun teacher, who told me that his school was getting a surge in popularity because of the film.  I went to a Chinese mall to pick it up and I for a split second I couldn’t remember the name of the movie, so I asked for the flick about Bruce Lee’s teacher.  The girl in the shop paused for a minute and didn’t know what I meant.  Then I said, ‘you know the new Donnie Yen movie’ and she instantly grabbed it.

I don’t know about you, but when this stuff happened, I just couldn’t believe it.   It seems that, I suppose as with all things, even the memory of the very greatest in martial artists, and event he hottest trends to one generation, become history to the next, to perhaps be re-discovered again down the road.    Is the deep memory of the great Bruce Lee fading amongst this generation both in the west and in Hong Kong?  There was a time when Bruce reigned supreme, and even after passing on his fame seemed only to grow.  At that time, his life and history were common knowledge to martial artists and martial arts movie fans alike.  Everyone in the martial arts community knew about his diminutive teacher, Yip Man and Sifu Man’s deadly style, which gave birth to Bruce’s interest in martial arts, speed, and efficiency and even laid the foundations for his own style of Jeet Kune Do. 

Is Bruce Lee and his legacy being forgotten so fast?  Is all the knowledge and development of his original style being lost?

In the 70’s through the 90’s, bolstered by the fame of Bruce Lee and his unparalleled speed, Wing Chun stood famously apart in the world of martial arts.  So different from its flowery and ornamental cousins, all of which imitated animals, Wing Chun was famous for its simple, practical movements, which were thought by many to be more real than competitors.  And who could forget their unique and cool wooden dummy, that kids on my martial arts block wanted!

But it seems that with time, this memory slowly faded, giving way, with the martial arts classics giving way to the new waves of the ninja craze, new wave HK cinema and even MMA, until one day the unthinkable happened and Bruce’s style was no longer lauded or even known about in the public eye.

At first this struck me as both amazing, humorous and a bit sad, that the great era of the 70’s martial arts movie and all its surrounding knowledge and culture was fading.  But then I realized that perhaps there is something great about what I saw after all.  As the popularity of the greats ebb and flow like the tides, there is a chance that they in fact stay alive, allowing themselves to resurge back in the future with new energy as a new generation feels that they have ‘discovered’ them and invest in them new energy and drive as a result.  Maybe with this sense of discovery, curiosity and interest, the world of martial arts and martial arts movies will grow, improve and expand as new eyes and new fists take the torch and run yet further with it.

But at the same time, it gives us who were around the first time to say.....I told you so!

Lorne Gross

© Showflicks Inc. 2010

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